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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

inspiration in nyc

You might remember that I was in NYC a couple of weeks ago for the Quilt Alliance'sQuilters Take Manhattan event. As is often the case in the city, we spent lots of time walking around. And while I think NYC is a little too much hustle and bustle for me personally, I have to admit that it is full of inspiration, everywhere. Literally everywhere. From the people on the subways below ground, to the tallest sky scrapers, and everything in between, there are so many things to see and draw inspiration from. I was especially intrigued with these corrugated metal water towers that sit on top of buildings.

I really love how they looked against all of the buildings they sat on, and I think they reminded me a bit of the metal silos that are often found on farms around here. Like this one.

Of course, there are really all sorts of amazing architectural details in the city. Here are some of my favorites that I saw.

This is a post office near Madison Square Garden, and it's a bit hard to tell in the photo, but the motto "Neither rain, nor sleet, ..." is carved in the lintel.

I especially loved these art deco brass details that were on this building. Such amazing craftsmanship.

And another thing I love about NYC is all of the types of people you see everywhere. I have no idea how many different languages I heard being spoken. And I just had to stop and take a photo of this woman in a kimono on the street. She was so beautiful.

The corner in the fashion district is one of my favorite places. It's near Parsons New School of Design, for all you Project Runway fans, and there are two large statues there. One is a garment worker at a sewing machine, and the other is a huge sewing needle and button.

And I really loved this elaborate metal work and carved stone.

Going through these photos really makes me want to spend a lot of time documenting the scenery around me, in my community. Jeff and I have often said that we want to take a day where we walk all around Cincinnati, photographing things that catch our eyes. Now, we just need to make the time to do it.

2 comments:

I love the art deco motif you shot. Downtown Seattle is fascinating too, such a mix of people and cultures!

My mom studied fashion design (more on the illustation side). She won some award back in the day. I think the contest was sponsored by Parsons and Mademoiselle Magazine. I think she ended up taking some classes there, as she went to school in upstate newyork.